Hotel Occupancy Predicted To Drop During Ramadan, Entrepreneurs Asked To Give Discounts

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy (Kemenparekraf) said, based on a report by the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI), the hotel occupancy rate is expected to decrease during the momentum of Ramadan 2024.

"We estimate that from March 10 to April 9, 2024, there will usually be a decrease in foreign tourist visits (tourists) and the movement of domestic tourists in the country. This has an impact on decreasing the occupancy rate or occupancy of hotel rooms," said Adyatama of Tourism and Creative Economy. Main Expert of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, Nia Niscaya at The Weekly Brief with Sandi Uno in Jakarta, Monday, March 4.

Nia said this was also due to the momentum of Ramadan which coincided with the low season holiday season. This means that the conditions in which recreation areas are empty of visitors because it is not the season for people to vacation.

"Indeed, for foreign tourists, the season is a bit low. However, when fasting, the foreign tourists usually go down, yes, especially in big cities like Jakarta," he said.

Therefore, Nia advised the hotel sector to provide discounts or room price flexibility to attract people to fill hotel rooms during Ramadan momentum and to meet hotel operational costs during Ramadan, such as payment of employee salaries, cleaning rooms and so on.

"I think that might be something that can be done. So, the flexibility of room prices and of course promotions (can be done) by targeting special segments," he said.

Even so, PHRI estimates that occupancy during the Lebaran 2024 holiday will be high. This estimate is based on the improvement of overall hotel conditions in Indonesia in 2024 which will improve.

Previously, reflecting on the occupancy ahead of Lebaran 2023, PHRI noted that hotel occupancy in favorite tourist destination cities was more than 70 percent. There are several favorite destinations that are also visited by many travelers, namely Yogyakarta, Malang, Cirebon and so on.

However, for the Jakarta area itself, PHRI noted that there was no increase in hotel occupancy during the Lebaran 2023 holiday.